Thursday, August 27, 2009

"The Art of Obama Worship"

"Worship" is certainly the right word to use when discussing a political figure whose accomplishments are (and continues to be) non-existent in any matter of substance, but rich in rhetoric, imagery, marketing, and illusion.

Noteworthy:

"Obama is hardly the first president whose physical likeness has been the subject of devotional art. Yet the others who achieved this status did so only after they had accomplished something great, like Washington, or had been martyred, like Kennedy, or in the case of Lincoln, both. Obama’s iconic status is of a different nature, an artifact not of his presidency but his identity—a youthful man of mixed race and remarkable attractiveness upon whom the greatest of expectations have come to rest. This means that the role played by art, and by artists, has been different in Obama’s campaign and presidency from any other in American history."